HP 3PAR File Persona Software

The deployment, management, and reporting of multiple tiers of business applications, databases, virtual workloads, home directories, and file sharing are expected of today’s data centers. Additionally, they must co-locate various systems while utilizing shared power and energy. Both big and little environments share this. In order to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of data centers and branch offices, the trend in contemporary IT is to consolidate as much as possible. To efficiently consolidate various workloads, HP 3PAR StoreServ is a highly effective flash-optimized storage system designed for the true convergence of block, file, and object access. Multiprotocol support is a key component of the system architecture of HP 3PAR OS and converged controllers.

HP 3PAR File Persona Software

HP 3PAR File Persona Software

 

 

HP 3PAR File Persona Licensing

On HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000c, 8000, 9000, and 20000 series storage systems, File Persona is supported. HP 3PAR OS 3.3 is first. 1, with the exception of the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000c, all supported HP 3PAR StoreServ platforms include a File Persona license as part of the base HP 3PAR OS single-system software license. For detailed information on various platforms, consult the relevant HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage QuickSpecs.

For more information about HP 3PAR License, click.

With the capability of HP 3PAR File Persona Software, you can create a Converged Storage solution that includes the following two items, and you can focus on the File level access option, which actually provides you with the functionality of a NAS device:

  1. The first mode of Block Level Storage access: use for Server workload.
  2. The second mode of accessing File Level Storage: use in the following cases
  • Use for Client workload such as
    • Use in User share
    • Use in Home Directory
    • Use in Content management

Important points regarding this solution

  • The license for this feature must be active
  • I need network cards that support this feature
  • Management and setting is through StoreServ Management Console and Cli
  • Access methods through this system are SMB (CIFS), NFS, Object Access API, FTP

HP 3PAR File Persona

Concepts related to HP 3PAR File Persona Software Suite.

The following managed objects are included in the software package:

  • File Provisioning Groups (FPGs).
  • a virtual file server (VFS).
  • a file store.
  • Shared files.

The licensed File Persona Software Suite is based on the robust mesh-active architecture of the licensed HP 3PAR File Persona StoreServ and gains from the wide-striped logical disks and autonomous Common Provisioning Groups (CPGs) of HP 3PAR storage. To establish file shares or logical unit numbers (LUNs) that offer true convergence, a CPG can be shared between files and blocks.

An example of the HPE proprietary Adaptive File System is a File Provisioning Group (FPG). It manages the archiving and retrieval of files. For the File Persona Software Suite, each FPG serves as the replication and disaster recovery unit and is transparently built from one or more Virtual Volumes (VVs). On a node pair, up to 16 FPGs are supported.

A virtual file server (VFS) resembles a server conceptually. As a result, it provides virtual IP addresses to clients, takes part in user authentication services, and has the ability to have properties for things like managing user/group quotas and antivirus policies. On a node pair, up to 16 VFSs—one for each FPG—are supported.

HP 3PAR File Persona Software

HP 3PAR File Persona Software

 

The portion of a VFS and FPG known as a File Store is where snapshots are made, capacity quota management can be done, and antivirus scan service policies can be customized. A node pair can support up to 256 File Stores, 16 File Stores per VFS.

Clients can access file shares via SMB, NFS, and the Object Access API, depending on the share permissions set for each of those protocols. A File Store can have multiple File Shares created for it, each at a different directory level.

authenticating locally

Smaller Windows, Linux, and UNIX environments frequently use local authentication. A copy of the local user database is present on every node. Each File Persona node in the system receives a copy of every modification made to the local accounts database. Local users are authenticated by default using NTLMv2. The local user database keeps the password encrypted. If no UIDs or GIDs are specified when the object is created, they are assigned automatically. To ensure that IDs are distinct across name services, the storage administrator should check.

stacking of authentication

After turning on advanced options in the Configure File Persona menu, you can configure the authentication stack order from the SSMC. LDAP and Active Directory are optional; local Users and Groups are required to be listed in the Provider Order. Active Directory and Local Users On the CLI, use “showfs -auth” to display the configured stacking order. It should be noted that the stacking order is configured independently from the authentication methods, and users cannot authenticate using a method that is not in the stack. Using this stack order, File Persona searches each authentication service for a match with an entry, stopping at the first result.

File Provisioning Group (FPG)

In the hierarchy system, File Service is the highest level that controls how files are stored and received and that FPGs are made of one or more virtual volumes and include VFSs.

Virtual File Server (VFS)

It acts as a Virtual Device that is used to control a set of policies for communication between the internal networks and file service objects, for which we consider a virtual IP address for communication with the internal network. This VFS includes another item called File Stores, the tasks of this level include the following:

  • File Stores
  • Antivirus policy
  • User authentication
  • Policy for users and groups quota management
This level of file service object includes the following tasks
  • File Shares
  • Taking a snapshot
  • Capacity quota management
  • Personalization of Antivirus scan policies

At this level, we can create several file shares in the file store, which includes the following tasks:

  • Setting Share permissions
  • Provides access to data for clients through SMB (CIFS), NFS, FTP, Object Access API
HP 3PAR File Persona Software

HP 3PAR File Persona Software

 

File persona scalability limitations

  • The maximum size of each FPG can be 32 TB
  • Up to 1500 simultaneous SMB users in a Node pair
  • We can have a maximum of 16 FPGs in a Node pair
  • The maximum total size of all FPGs in a Node pair can be 64 TB
  • We can have up to 16 VFS in a Node pair and we can have one VFS in each FPG
  • We can have a maximum of 256 file stores in a Node pair and a maximum of 16 in a VFS

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